Titanate pyrochlores: Growth of stoichiometric crystals below their melting points

The pyrochlore rare earth titanates (RE₂Ti₂O₇) have been intensively studied experimentally and theoretically over the past two decades. In the field of magnetism, this class of materials is considered to be ideal hosts for archetypal geometrical frustration, which consists of the quantum spin ice, classical spin ice, and spin liquid behaviors. The energy scales for such magnetic interactions are low; therefore, these systems are expected to be very sensitive to small perturbations of all kinds, including non-stoichiometry and structural defects. In this talk, we report the effects that synthesis and growth conditions can have on the stoichiometry, defect formation, and physical properties. We also describe the process to grow high-quality and stoichiometric pyrochlore titanate single crystals at temperatures below their melting points by changing their composition using the traveling solvent floating zone technique (TSFZ).